Energy Food and Drink
You're going to need adequate fuel and hydration for your running and trail adventures. Here you can find the best-rated energy gels, chews, and bars, plus electrolyte, hydration, and recovery drinks in enough flavors and forms to please any palette (just be sure to give any a trial run before that big race).
Want more food for longer outdoor adventures? Check out our full independent reviews and ratings of trail and backcountry food and drink, including meals, desserts, coffee, and more.
The best energy food and drink, reviewed and curated by the Trailspace community. The latest review was added on June 26, 2021. Stores' prices and availability are updated daily.
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Recent Food/Drink Reviews
Gatorade Propel Powder Pack
Propel is an electrolyte beverage that comes in a 2.4 gram pouch. It's a zero calorie drink. It comes in three flavors. I chose the grape. Propel electrolyte replacement pouches you just add to your water bottle. During the summer and spring I watch electrolytes like most hikers. I found that I wanted less sugar in my drinks. I was recommended Propel and it was easy to find at my grocers. You find it where Gatorade is sold. My store runs a pretty good sale on two boxes. It's recommended to… Full review
Honey Stinger Cracker Bar with Protein
Honey Stinger's Cracker Bars are among my favorite bars for ski trips, hiking, and outdoor snacking. Available in two tasty flavors—Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate—they're made with organic sea salt multigrain crackers sandwiching a layer of organic peanut butter, sweetened with organic honey, and covered in organic milk or dark chocolate. All together it's a crunchy, sweet and salty combo that I find a welcome alternative to the typical dense energy bars available. Full review
Exo Cricket Energy Bar
Six-legged creatures have never tasted so good! The Blueberry Vanilla EXO Cricket Energy Bar is an energy bar made using cricket powder as the basic protein source. In addition to ground-up crickets, these energy bars are also made from a lot of good healthy ingredients like almonds, apricots, blueberries, and a bunch of other ingredients that you can read, pronounce, and already have a good idea of what they are. These energy bars taste good and have a nice consistency and make them a great option… Full review
SaltStick Elixalyte
SaltStick's Elixalyte electrolytes make the hydration process simple and easy. Rather than running into issues with cramping and heat stress, you can incorporate a few drops of this concoction into your fluids to prevent these issues. Nobody likes their hike to be interrupted by heat stress and cramps. But finding ways to incorporate electrolytes into your day can help reduce these issues. Luckily, SaltStick's Elixalyte gives athletes easy access to a clean and balanced electrolyte formula during… Full review
Huel Bar
Complete nutrition at your fingertips. Nutritious, durable food that can either supplement your meals or completely replace them. I ate more than 40 of these bars during the test so I've learned a little bit about them! About: “Simply put, Huel is food, with just the right amount of protein, essential fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to fuel your day without weighing you down. Better yet, Huel is vegan, lactose-free, soy-free, GMO-free, and approved by a team of Registered Dietitians. Full review
Honey Stinger Mini Waffles
Honey Stinger took its popular—and tasty—organic waffles and shrunk them down into a mini snack size in a convenient, resealable bag. Mini Waffles come in honey or vanilla flavor and provide the same fuel and flavor as the original thin wafer cookies. You won't have as many flavor options, nor any gluten-free versions in this size. However, a bag of Mini Waffles will probably empty faster than you expect on a hike or at home. Whether to go large or mini comes down to personal preference and… Full review
The Crafty Weka Bar The Original
This bar is great for a snack on the go, and can even replace breakfast! It keeps me full for hours. It's also great to put in smoothies. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a clean, NZ-made snack bar. These bars taste incredible and the taste and texture varies depending on what flavour you get! Currently my favourite is date and orange. No prep required, just buy with your groceries and you're good to go. Easy to chuck in a backpack for long walks or bike rides. This bar satisfies my… Full review
The Crafty Weka Bar The Original
Energy in a 75-gram bar that tastes great. I have been given some of these energy bars to try and to review with no pressure to give a good review. This is a new start-up business in Christchurch, New Zealand. I have carried these on both day walks and on a multi-day hike and found the following: They are a tasty bar with loads of nuts and seeds in a syrup base, which I suspect is honey, slightly chewy with a crunch. The label says they have: energy 1860 kj protein 8.1 g fats 18.7 g carbs 30.4… Full review
Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier
The Liquid IV electrolyte mix offers a variety of flavors, but none of them are overly sweet. I ordered the product directly from the company. The product was delivered quickly and ahead of schedule. I ordered the variety pack which included three flavors—Lemon Lime, Acai Berry and Passion Fruit. There were eight packets of each flavor. It is recommended that each packet be added to 16 ounces. or 0.5 liter of water. At first I found it a little difficult to open the packets cleanly. I then realized… Full review
